But now Owain Yeoman is to star as the bad guy in a new US TV series about the adventures of the Man of Steel's little cousin.

The 36-year-old Chepstow-born actor, who found fame Stateside in the FBI thriller The Mentalist, is to play intergalactic villain Vartox in the pilot of the much-hyped comic book adaptation.

But while he may now be adept at changing nappies thanks to he and wife Gigi's new arrival, Owain confessed that he's very pleased he doesn't have to wear one himself - his character having been based on the OTT look Sean Connery sported in the surreal 1974 sci-fi film Zardoz.

“I’m so pleased that Supergirl has been picked up," said Owain, whose daughter Ever Belle was born last month.

"I’m only in the pilot so far and I can’t really say a lot, but I can reveal that I won’t be in the red bondage-style gear Sean Connery was dressed in for Zardoz.

"I won’t be sporting the long ponytail either. He was a brave man to take that look on, I can tell you.”

The beauty of comic book-based TV shows is that they can draw inspiration from many sources, he added, Supergirl having been the brainchild of Greg Berlanti, executive producer of such mega-successful superhero shows The Flash and Arrow,.

“Basically, my character was sent to Earth to find Supergirl but is then put in prison by her mother and is a bit angry – it’s a bit of a change for me because I get to play someone completely different from my previous characters. He’s someone completely hellbent on destruction.

“Filming was great fun, though, as there were no limits to what I could do. If I had to go and jump off a building it would happen.

Owain Yeoman gets in touch with his dark side in the Supergirl trailer

“The pilot was directed by Glen Winter, who also directed the pilot of The Flash, and he’s done a phenomenal job, it looks incredible and has enormous production value. Sometimes the concern with projects like this on TV is, what will it look like? But this has the full weight of Warner Brothers and DC behind it and it’s a very different show for CBS,” he says.

Yeoman tells that the story of Supergirl’s (played by Melissa Benoist) origins is an important story to tell: “A lot of it is tongue-in-cheek of course, but it also tells the struggle of an adolescent girl who is dealing with this huge adjustment in her life.”

Another big plus for fans is that the cast assembled will almost be a who’s who of Superman history.

“It also stars Dean Cain and the original Supergirl Helen Slater,” says Owain. “I’m a huge fan and I grew up watching Lois and Clark. I even auditioned for the last two Superman movies, but they weren’t ready for a British Superman – or so I was told.

“Now that’s exactly what we have. They very much like to keep it in the family with this sort of production, the cross-over potential is exciting. CBS also owns Arrow and The Flash, so the temptation to give fans what they want will be incredible."